Uncomfortable Thanksgiving TV, Part 1

November 20, 2006

Nothing really makes the heart skip a beat like the words “Bryant Gumbel” and “holiday special” together as one. This week our boy has the bird all sewn up with An American Thanksgiving, premiering on Turkey Day at 4pm ET. Alexa Yablonski of USA Today (co-sponsors of the special) reminds us that this day is not about the annual battle for the last Butterball or eating dinner at 2 p.m. Thanksgiving is about giving thanks, just like the pilgrims and the Native Americans did before they lived happily ever after.

In the Gumbel special, everyone from U.S. vets to former gang members to a rescued grizzly bear show their gratitude. There is also a special Katrina section (expect it to be handled with real taste; the snappy show description reads, “The moving story of hurricane Katrina victims who are finally given a reason to be thankful!”) What made Eye stop and pause, even perform the perfunctory Google search, was the show’s mention of visiting Thanks-Giving Square in Dallas, TX. I’m sorry. What’s that? Who that? Are you familiar with this place, reader? The multi-denominational center in Dallas, TX includes a Chapel of Thanksgiving with its own stained-glass “Glory Window”; hosts Thanksgiving seminars on “aspects of gratitude,” and has even started the Thanksgiving Council of the Young for wee Thanksgiving superfans. The mission of the center is manifold, but its key purpose is to “to gather and share the thanksgivings of the world,” i.e., assert the universality of this American holiday.

Eye smells a pusher. A bloody Thanksgiving pusher. There are a lot of sick fucks in this world and more than a few claim gratitude is their attitude.